Getting fitter for the job: Improving the quality of labour market information using individual level surveys

The quality of labour market information (LMI) to inform and guide employment and skills policy formulation is still indicted, even in official circles, of not being fit for the job. However, these doubts are nothing new; they have been voiced on various occasions in the past. Back in 1999, for example, the Skills Task Force concluded ‘that there was too much data overall’ and to make matters worse, ‘what there was was inconsistent and incoherent’ (DfEE, 1999: 87). It made a number of recommendations to address these failings, so that there would be ‘fewer, [but] better surveys’ in the future (ibid: 95).